The untimely death of acclaimed Polish director
Krzysztof Kieslowski in 1996 deprived the world of one of its most
brilliant cinematic talents. Kieslowski left behind a tremendous body of work,
including The Decalogue, The Double Life of Veronique, and the
magnificent Trois Couleurs trilogy (Blue, White, and Red), as well as an unfilmed script which
had intended to be the first entry of a new thematic trilogy.
Heaven was co-written with frequent Kieslowski
collaborator Krzysztof Piesiewicz, and was to have begun a new trilogy that
would continue with Hell and Purgatory. While Piesiewicz has
endeavored to carry on with the completion of the trilogy without Kieslowski,
the unfilmed script for Heaven remained available as Kieslowski's final written work.

Catching the eye of German art-house regular Tom Tykwer, the eclectic director
behind the existential action flick fave Lola Rennt (Run Lola Run) as
well as the fractured but rewarding Der Krieger und die Kaiserin (The
Princess and the Warrior), the powerful script for Heaven
convinced Tykwer to transcend his trepidation towards the project and
shoot Heaven as his next film. Rather than simply emulate
the late, great director, Tykwer remained faithful to the script while imbuing
the film with own style and sensibilities, a relationship oft compared to the
collaboration between Spielberg and Kubrick on A.I..

Heaven stars the always-luminescent Cate Blanchett as
Philippa, a British teacher in Italy whose husband died as the result of
overindulgent drug use. Several of her students have also been found
dead due to unfettered drug proliferation. In a defiant act of
desperation and armed with a searing thirst for vengeance, Philippa schemes to
assassinate the local drug czar by planting a bomb in his office. Due to a
series of unplaned and tragic circumstances, the bomb detonates away from its
intended target, killing four innocent bystanders: an office cleaning woman, a
father, and his two young daughters.

Before the bomb's detonation, Philippa was emboldened with the certainty that
life was senseless, without justice or reason. She resignated herself to the
notion that her life was to end with the murder of the drug czar, whose wares
killed her husband and students, going so far as to call the police forty
seconds before the bomb's detonation, revealing to them her own name and
the reasons for her actions. She was ready to accept her punishment,
imprisonment and perhaps even death. Yet her act of vengeance -- or justice,
depending upon your particular mores -- presents the viewers with a
conundrum of sorts, as what began as simple retribution devolved into
senseless murder. The moral ambiguity that envelope her actions permeates
through to the viewer as well. Philippa unknowingly yet senselessly murdered
four innocent people. Her reasons for planting the bomb are arguably
justifiable, but the vigor and determination in which she initiated the
self-imposed relinquishment of her own life resulted in the deaths of others who
were uninvolved in her conflict.

Meanwhile, the similarly-monikered Filippo (played by Giovanni Ribisi) is a
carabinieri, an officer in the military-styled Italian police force.
Offering himself as a translator during Philippa's interrogation, he finds
himself in love with the older woman. In her he sees escape from a world without
sense, without logic, without reason. In a scene that somewhat stretches
credibility, he arranges her escape from jail as the pair retreats to the
Italian countryside.

Heaven is a lovely but somewhat flawed film. It flirts with
moments of film greatness, featuring scenes of staggering power and beauty that,
if nothing else, herald Tykwer as an assured and visionary talent. Cate
Blanchett gives a muted but devastating performance that reinforces her standing
as one of the most ferociously talented actors of our time. But
Giovanni Ribisi is the real surprise here. Projecting innocence, naivety, and a
deft mixture of fierce resolve with simple veracity in his
performance, Ribisi gives what is probably the best performance of his career (I
haven't seen The Mod Squad, so bear with me on this pronouncement.)
Heaven falters in its inability to follow through on the
questions raised by the inherent moral ambiguity of the setting. It doesn't
explore many of the ethical repercussions of the film's first and second
acts, instead focusing on the protagonists somewhat glib acceptance
that their lives have effectively ended. It's a squandered opportunity and the
film ultimately suffers for it, but what still makes the film worthwhile is
Tykwer's steady handling of the story's resolution, as well as his unyielding
and masterful ability in conveying the story's potency on film. Heaven
is deliberately paced but neither slow nor dull, and Frank Griebe's
breathtaking cinematography elevates Heaven to a Terrence
Malick level of poeticism. Heaven might not be a perfect film,
but its excruciating themes, luscious imagery and stellar performances resonate
long after the film ends.

The DVD

Video:Heaven is
presented in a widescreen transfer, retaining the film's original aspect ratio
of 1.85:1, and has been anamorphically enhanced for your widescreen viewing
pleasure. The quality
of the transfer is quite remarkable. This is a film of
imagery, of breathtaking cinematography, vibrant colors, and telling shadows, and
the transfer does not disappoint in conveying these
elements to the viewer. The color levels on the disc are
lush and strong, displaying excellent separation without blooming, bleeding, or oversaturation. Flesh
tones are warm and natural looking. Contrasts are excellent, with deep black
levels sporting excellent shadow delineation. Image detail is sharp, boasting excellent definition and sharpness.
Compression noise and other transfer artifacts are not to be
found. Edge-enhancement does mar the quality of the transfer, as instances of
haloing and ghosting are noticeable throughout the film. These detract from what
is otherwise a remarkable transfer.

Audio:The audio is presented in Dolby Digital 5.1. The
original soundtrack language is a mix
of Italian and English, and the subtitle choices allow you to
watch the film with English subtitles over the Italian dialog
only, French subtitles throughout the entire film, English
subtitles over both the Italian and English dialog, or no subtitles
at all. The Dolby Digital 5.1 is primarily located throughout the front
soundstage. While the audio presents excellent spatiality with effective directional effects and
a broad fidelity that enhances the film's haunting score, surrounds are infrequently used, coming
to life only to enhance occasional background and ambient noise.
LFE effects are employed in a tasteful and non-overbearing manner, adding a
welcome depth and dimension to the field. Dialog levels are perfect, lacking any
discernable hiss, distortion, or thinness.

Extras:Heaven
comes with an impressive selection of quality extras, the most informative of
which being the Feature Commentary by Director Tom Tykwer. Tykwer is
an animated and engaging presence, and talks at length about his
initial fear of tackling this project, his reasons for doing so, the shooting of
the film, the use of special effects and camera movements (including the amazing
Space Cam, more of which is coming up), the context surrounding many of the
film's situations, and working with Cate Blanchett, Giovanni Ribisi, and other
members of the cast and crew. It's a wonderful commentary that is a must-listen
if one wants to further their appreciation of or interest in
Heaven
.

"The Story of Heaven" is a six-minute featurette
that, while altogether too short, brings together many members of the cast and
crew who share their thoughts on how this exciting project came to pass.
Included in these interviews are executive producers Sydney Pollack and Anthony
Minghella, producer William Horberg, director Tom Tykwer, and actors Cate
Blanchett and Giovanni Ribisi. Each brought their own perspectives to the
featurette and, as mentioned before, at six minutes it is simply too short;
I could have watched this for an hour. Nonetheless, it transcends basic
EPK material and provides some interesting insights into the
project.

The Sneak Peaks section contains trailers for
Blue, White, and Red, as well as a promotional
trailer for Miramax entitled Miramax Year of Gold. Five
Deleted Scenes are also included, with optional commentary from Tom
Tykwer. You can view each scene individually or utilize the "Play All" function.
Finally, a fascinating Space Cam Fly-By has been included. This four
minute helicopter landscape shot is absolutely lovely. The "Space Camera"
system is a camera mounted on a helicopter that provides steady camera shots
through an integrated stabilization device. In other words, any shakiness
brought about the helicopter's movements or wind resistance is negated,
resulting in some remarkable fluidity in the Space Cam shots. The four-minute shot is steady, poetic, and absolutely
breathtaking.

Final Thoughts

A hypnotic film that mesmerizes from start to finish,
Heaven is one of the better films to emerge out of 2002. While
its aforementioned flaws hurt the film in significant ways, one cannot deny the
hyperreal lyricism that emerged out of Kieslowski's and Piesiewicz's moving
script and Tykwer's singular directorial vision. I wish the film would have
further explored many of the film's unresolved issues, the ethical and moral
quandaries that were left behind in the wake of providing Philippa and Filipo
with movement towards their desired resolution. This is a missed opportunity,
but the film is nonetheless worthwhile. Heaven is a
unique visual representation of tragic poeticism at its most
potent.

The DVD comes complete with an excellent transfer and
audio presentation. The movie simply looks and sounds wonderful, with only minor
quibbles that detract from an almost stellar presentation. The supplemental
material is definitely value-adding, giving the viewer a deeper appreciation of
the film. Although not for all types (this film is heavily geared towards the
foreign film/art house crowd), Heaven is indeed heavenly.
Highly
recommended!